Polling underway in 13 urban local bodies in Andhra

Polling was underway for Nellore Municipal Corporation and 12 municipalities amid tight security in Andhra Pradesh on Monday.

About 30 per cent voter turnout was recorded till noon. The polling began at 7 a.m. and will continue till 5 p.m. in Nellore Corporation and 12 municipalities including Kuppam municipality in Kuppam Assembly constituency represented by Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president and former chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.

State Election Commissioner Neelam Sawhney said the polling was underway in a peaceful and smooth manner. She said elaborate security arrangements have been made to prevent any untoward incident.

Polling was on for Akiveedu municipality in West Godavari district, Jaggayyapet and Kondapalli in Krishna district, Dachepalli and Gurazala in Guntur district, Darsi in Prakasam district, Buchireddypalem in Nellore district, Kuppam in Chittoor district, Bethamcherla in Kurnool district, Kamalapuram and Rajampet in Kadapa district and and Penukonda in Anantapur district.

Repolling, wherever necessary, will be held on Tuesday while counting of votes will be taken up on Wednesday, the SEC said.

The poll body announced that the election of the Mayor and two Deputy Mayors of Nellore Municipal Corporation and Chairpersons of 12 municipalities will be held on November 22.

The SEC had issued a notification on November 1 for polling to these municipalities and also for sarpanches and ward members in gram panchayats.

Polling was not conducted in these constituencies for a variety of reasons including the death of contesting candidates.

Polling for 36 sarpanches and 68 ward members was held peacefully on Sunday.

Meanwhile, tension prevailed in Kuppam municipality as the opposition TDP staged a protest alleging that leaders of the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) were resorting to rigging.

At one of the polling booths, TDP leaders caught hold of some non-locals and handed them over to the police.

TDP General Secretary Lokesh alleged that the YSRCP has brought outsiders for bogus voting.

He said the ruling party was afraid of defeat.

Lokesh slammed the role of the police and alleged that they failed to check electoral malpractices.